Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson has announced six new £10 million research hubs that will explore and improve new manufacturing techniques across fields such as targeted biological medicines, 3D printing, and composite materials.

The announcement is welcomed by the Future Photonics Hub, lead by the ORC, building upon the £20 million invested by the government through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to support its creation in 2016, alongside the future manufacturing research hub in liquid metal engineering led by Brunel University.

The new hubs will draw together expertise from 17 universities and 200 industrial and academic partners to upgrade the UK’s manufacturing capabilities and take further advantage of the UK’s innovative strengths. The announcement comes as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy to further UK economic growth and follows the government’s Autumn Statement commitment to invest an additional £2 billion per year for research and innovation by 2020/21 to unlock the full potential of the UK’s research base in areas such as robotics and biotechnology.

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: “Developing new innovative manufacturing techniques will help UK industry create new products, explore more business opportunities and ensure the UK becomes more competitive and productive.

“This investment will lay the foundations to allow industry and our world-leading universities to thrive for years to come and is exactly the type of project that our upcoming Industrial Strategy will look to support.”

The hubs will be led by Cardiff University, the universities of Huddersfield, Nottingham, Sheffield, Strathclyde and University College London.